Design fiction is an approach to design that speculates about new ideas through prototyping and storytelling. The goal is to move away from the routine of lifeless scenarios-based thinking. We will share design fiction projects and discuss related techniques for design thinking, communication and exploration of near future concepts.

Publishers are often misunderstood and misrepresented as merely bank-style operations who provide an advance for an artist and then simply collect their income while taking commission on the earnings. Experienced pros "de-mystify" exactly what publishers do for their songwriters on a day-to-day basis and speak about some creative initiatives they are taking.

With SXSW launching 2D Barcodes as part of the registration process and as a way of accessing digital content on your mobile there will be a lot of interest in this technology in the coming months. This panel will explore these emerging technologies that create a link between the physical and…

Remember when the utility of an online map consisted of directions and gawking at satellite imagery? With the recent tide of location-based apps such as Foursquare and the introduction of the likes of Twitter Maps, maps is rapidly emerging as the gateway to socially exploring the world around us. But that’s not all. In this future focused discussion, we’ll explore the rise of maps as a social platform and it’s potential beyond. This panel is sponsored by Microsoft Bing.

Two high-profile industry mavericks narrate the battle for your living room. The first thinks that Internet is the future of entertainment, video included. The second thinks Cable/Satellite will always deliver a better video experience and that Internet video will remain a small niche.

Even though technology evolved at a crazy pace the last 100 years, the humble button has stayed at the center of it all. What is its past, its future? Why is it important? What does it say about the interaction between humans and technology? Pictures, stories, revelations, maybe movies.

Cooking for Geeks covers a new way of looking at how to cook for the hacker, maker, and creative person. By bringing science and experimentation into the kitchen, this panel will show how to create better food and new experiences at the dinner table.

Slow Twitter is like Slow Food, but much sillier. The people who use the most impulse-driven site for the most thought-out one-liners have created a new art form with its own poetic language, economy of space, and a million ways to joke about being drunk, naked and crying on a Monday.

A panel of witty Twitter users, moderated by the editor of the book "Twitter Wit," will discuss what goes into writing a good tweet, why Twitter is a legit form of literature, and why already-famous writers and comedians should "waste" their best ideas on Twitter.